


Corpse Party: Mercy Killing

by Emmybanana



Category: Corpse Party (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Attempted Murder, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Brotherly Love, Brutal Murder, Bullying, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Feels, Friendship/Love, Gen, Gore, Hatred, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Knives, Love, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mild Blood, Murder, Murder-Suicide, Murderers, Mystery, Poison, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Ratings: R, References to Depression, Secrets, Self-Hatred, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Survival Horror, Teen Angst, Teen Crush, Teenage Drama, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers, Thriller, Tragedy, Unrequited Love, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:27:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmybanana/pseuds/Emmybanana
Summary: A dark and gruesome tale. Familiar but not quite the same.A group of high school students band together to investigate the mysterious disappearance of their fellow classmate. Along the way, they get transported to another demention infested with death and despair. Together, they must unravel the mystery of this terrible hellscape and find a way home before they meet the fate that so many others before them did. Unfortunately, this dark demention always finds a way of bringing out the worst in people....
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Knowledge is powerful.

Knowledge is the basis for all life in the universe. The more knowledge you gain, the more advanced you become.

But some knowledge isn't meant to be known. It can be too much for some. They can't handle the secrets that have been given to them.

Some things are better left unknown.

• • • •

Supposedly fifty years ago, several people went missing due to the Sachiko Ever After phenomenon. Apparently, the ritual would send you to another world, a terrible hellscape where only death and darkness exists. Since then, the rumour has been proven to be untrue by multiple people. Just another tall tale to start a stir on the internet. 

Or was it?

The full moon shown brightly in the sky, creating a pale gray light to wash over the tiny town. A lone high school girl swings back and forth on a rusty old swing set, clasping a paper doll in her hands. The wind blew harshly, sending shivers through her body and threatening to blow the paper doll away into the darkness, never to be seen again. It was much colder than she thought it would be, the dark hoodie she wore did nothing to help.

She knew no one would be here. No one has been here for a long time. The rusty swing creaked and groaned under her weight as she swung lazily. She remembered when she used play on this playground when she was young, back when her family wasn't in shambles. Now the poor playsets were left to crumble away to dust. Much like her life.

Her research was all she had. The paranormal helped her to make sense of the world. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't understand everything. Despite all her research, the universe was still a mystery to her. All the conflicting views on things such as religion, dementions, time and space, just confused the hell out of her. Random puzzle pieces that just didn't fit together. It was frustrating. Unfortunately, she was only a high school student so she could only do so much. 

But the 'Sachiko Ever After' ritual was the best lead she had so far.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did you hear about Aoi Sakuma?"

"Isn't she the girl who disappeared the other day?"

The rain beat down on the windowsill, threatening to drown out the quiet gossip from any eavesdropper who happened to be listening in. But that didn't stop the girl with ribbons in her twin tails from trying. It was probably the most social interaction she's had since she moved here, a week ago.

"Do you think she's dead?"

"The cops are saying that she might have been kidnapped. Maybe she'll be held for ransom."

"After this long?"

"Ofcourse, it's only been a few days."

She had never known Aoi Sakuma, but after all the talk about her recently and her nearly constant appearance on the news, she knew her almost better than she knew herself. Aoi was the founder and president of the occult club here at school, which would no doubt be disbanded if she didn't turn up soon. She also had very few friends outside the club and was the victim of harsh bullying. Aoi's mother and father separated a few months back and the police currently had her father in questioning as a possible suspect. She only had two boyfriends total in her life. The first she had in middle school, they had a very messy break up, something about standing her up at the spring festival for someone else. Her second, her current boyfriend, Yasuo Watanabe, was recently questioned by the police, along with a few of the other occult kids. But was let off as a suspect very quickly.

It was clear that after hearing so much about Aoi Sakuma, she was sick to death of her.

"Hayashi? Junko Hayashi, are you paying attention!"

She jumped at the mention of her name.

"Uh yes, Mrs. Saito. I'm paying attention."

Mrs. Saito seemed to scan her up and down with her amber eyes. As if she was analyzing her lie, and deciding whether to humor it or not. Unfortunately, luck was not in Junko's favor.

"Then can you tell me the answer this problem?" She said, pointing at the board.

Junko racked her brain for a moment trying to recover the memories of the notes she took. This wasn't that hard, it was something she had to know for a lot of the lesson. Suddenly, a voice from behind her whispered in her ear.

"Pi = 3.14"

"Pi = 3.14" she repeated mindlessly. She didn't stop to question it, as to not draw attention to it. Mrs. Saito gave a subtle look of satisfaction.

"Very good. Now back to the lesson." The teacher said, going back to the board. 

While Mrs. Saito's back was turned, Junko spun around to see the owner of the voice who had saved her from such embarrassment. She almost couldn't believe who she saw.

It was none other than the student council president, Mami Yamazaki. She was so beautiful, the prettiest girl in school. Before Aoi Sakuma's disappearance, everyone talked about Mami. How her silky white hair flowed down her back, how her red eyes sparkled with a calm and confident energy that could disarm any man, and her soft face that surely had to be proportionally perfect.

Mami smiled sweetly, a light blush dusting her pale cheeks. Junko smiled back and said a quiet 'thank you' before turning back to the board.

'Why would the student council president help a nobody like me?' She thought, resting her head on her hands. Wasn't it kind of setting a bad example for the president to just give out answers like that? Then again, maybe it was just a good natured gesture from the student council to show that they cares about the little people and Junko just happened to be the lucky winner.

A sudden poke to the back halted her train of thought. Junko waited for Mrs. Saito to turn back to the board before she looked over her shoulder to see Mami handing her a tiny piece of folded paper. She hesitantly took the note and, for a split second, waited for her to say 'pass it on' before noticing the very obvious 'To: Hayashi chan' in very neat handwriting.

Junko opens the note:

'Meet me on the rooftop after school.'


	3. Chapter 3

This had to be a prank.

There was no way that the student council president would be caught dead talking to the weird new kid without a good reason. Surely, Mami would soil her reputation by socializing with a peasant like Junko. The whole situation made her feel anxious.

The sunset looked beautiful from the roof. She never really came up here all that much, she was always more of an indoor person. The sun glare made it hard to see her games. Junko pushed down the urge to pull out her DS and bury herself in her new game, which she had to write her review of it for her blog by Thursday.

Without her phone or her games to distract her, Junko's anxious thoughts started to rear their ugly head. Was this a good idea? Was her uniform on straight and did she look right in it? What if I do something to make her hate me? She'll tell everyone, no one will want to be her friend after that.

"Hayashi-chan?"

She turned to see Mami standing behind her, her pretty face looking a little unsure. No, she shouldn't concern herself with someone as insignificant as Junko. Please don't make that face. Stay happy, Mami.

"Hayashi-chan, are you alright?"

"Uh yes, sorry." Junko said, clearing her throat.

"Well, I'm glad you could make it. I've been quite eager to talk with you lately." Mami smiled innocently.

That had to be a lie. She doesn't actually want anything to do with her. This was only a temporary thing, it'll never last. Junko thought she might as well play along. No harm in pretending that someone so high class would be so pleasant to her. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"Well, it's quite an honor, Ms. President."

"You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Mami." The student council president seemed to titter sweetly.

"Oh um, ofcourse. Mami." The name felt foreign on Junko's tongue. She wasn't used to referring to someone so casually.

There was a short silence that Junko found completely insufferable. She would think that someone like Mami would be good at conversation. Her anxiety was starting to flare up again.

"So you wanted to see me?" She said a little more blatantly than she meant to. She just wanted to get this over with.

The white haired girl nodded.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry it's just, you just transferred here not too long ago and I understand how hard it can be to make friends. So I decided to take the initiative and give you a hardy welcome!"

With a small flourish, Mami stuck out her hand for Junko to take. It took Junko a moment for her to realize that she wanted a handshake, and she must have paused a little too long, because Mami looked up at her expectantly.

"Really?" Junko said, dumbly.

"Ofcourse." Mami said cheerily. "It's my duty as student council president to make all of the students feel welcome. That includes you."

"Me?" She blushed.

"Yes, you're the new kid after all."

"Oh right." For a moment, Junko actually thought she was special.

Nevertheless, Junko finally found the nerve to shake Mami's hand, which had been awkwardly been stretched out this whole time. Her hands were soft and dainty, like a dolls hand. Her nails were pretty too, well manicured and painted in a soft pink color.

"I also, I know that this is kinda sudden," Mami folded her hands in front of her politely. "But would you like to meet up with me and my friends at my house on Sunday."

Junko was stunned.

"What?" She stuttered, thinking that she must have heard her wrong.

"I know, it's weird, I barely know you. But you just seem so lonely whenever I see you, and I don't want anyone to be alone." Mami said. 

She almost seemed to be speaking from experience. Though it was hard to believe that someone as beautiful and popular as Mami would ever be alone. Still, she looked so genuine it was impossible to say no. Junko nodded slowly

"Alright," she said. "I'll be there."

Mami smiled wider than she thought was possible. As quick as a flash, she pulled out her silver cell phone.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Here, give me your number. I'll text you my address." She said.

Junko's mind was spinning, everything was happening so fast. She pulls out her phone as well, though not as quickly as her new companion.

"This will be fun." Mami continues. "I promise, you won't regret it!"


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday couldn't come fast enough. And yet, when it finally came, Junko still wasn't ready for it. The sight of the house made her stomach flip flop around inside her like a fish out of water. Mami's house was much bigger than all the other houses on the block, hinting at her family's obvious wealth.

Junko knew that she had no right to be here, even if she was invited. She didn't even know Mami, and now she was coming over to her house as if she were a long time friend? It didn't make any sense to her.

Junko sighed before ringing the doorbell.

She faintly heard the sound voices behind the door. They were talking about her and she knew it. Whoever is was in there was talking about how she was intruding on their good time and how much of a burden she was. Her hands were starting to shake and a cold sweat formed on her brow. Her chest tightened and her heart was beating a mile a minute. She was going to die. She was going to die right on the student council president's doorstep.

She thought she was about to empty her stomach, when the door swung open, revealing a smiling Mami.

"Hayashi chan, you made it. I hope you found your way here alright."

Junko nodded, unable to form words at that very moment. She must have looked sick because Mami suddenly looked very concerned. She put a hand on Junko's shoulder.

"Are you alright? You look pale." She said.

"Um, yes. I'm fine, sorry." Junko would make as many excuses as she could to avoid any conversation about what she was going through. Fortunately, her half assed answer seemed to be enough for the young president.

"Well, won't you come in?" She gestured her inside and stepped aside for Junko pass the threshold.

There was suddenly a loud crash coming from somewhere within the elaborate hallways that made up the house. Soon after, it was followed by a scolding male voice. The sound of another person almost made Junko want to turn around and walk right out.

Mami let out an exasperated but equally fond sigh. She lead Junko down the main hall that lead into a kitchen area where three people were cleaning up a broken juice glass off the floor. Well, the two girls were cleaning, the third, a boy, as just watching them with a condescending look.

"You need to be more careful, Risa." He said. "Your so clumsy."

One of the girls, Risa, gasped dramatically and and stood straight up to face him. Her blue eyes ablaze.

"How dare you! I am NOT clumsy!" She said.

The boy rolled his green eyes and adjusted his glasses. 

"You're unwillingness to admit your flaws is rather tiresome, you know."

The girl still cleaning up the mess seemed to be the only one who noticed their arrival. She was a rather sad looking girl and was looking up at Junko and Mami with curious eyes. She seemed relieved to see Mami.

"Mami, their fighting again!" The sad girl said in a mock childish tone. The student council president chuckled.

"Alright, alright you two. That's enough." Mami said, getting between Risa and the other boy. "We have a guest, so introduced yourselves."

She gestured to Junko and everyone turned to face her. Junko almost froze up when she saw how many eyes were on her. She gave the group a small wave. The girl with sad eyes was the first to go up and greet her.

"H-hi, it's nice to meet you," she stuttered, seemingly just as nervous as Junko felt. "I... I'm Kizana Hinata, what's your name?"

"Junko Hayashi." She said simply.

The Risa girl was next. She flipped her silky brown ponytail behind her and flashed a smile that you would only see on movie stars and supermodels. She placed her hands on her curvy hips in a sassy way.

"You've probably already heard of me. I am Risa Onishi, theater extraordinaire!" She spread her arms wide in a dramatic way. 

Junko wasn't sure how to feel about her just yet. Risa seemed too over the top for her liking. But she only just met her, she really didn't want to make too harsh a judgment just yet. The boy rolls his eyes at Risa's dramatic introduction. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Shuichi Ueda, Ms. Junko." He said shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure."

"Ueda?" Junko said, a lightbulb of recognition going off in her brain. "You write for the school newspaper, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yes, me and my sister."

"Speaking of your sister," Mami interjected. "When will she be joining us?"

"Later, she's bringing Usagi and Akira." Shuichi said.

"Good! Now remember guys," Mami announced. "We're all coming together help to get Yasuo's mind off all the chaos going on right now. So I don't want anyone to mention Aoi or anything about the case, ok?"

All of them, besides Junko, seemed to nod in sync with eachother. Junko suddenly felt very out of place within the group. What the hell was she doing here? Yasuo? As in, Yasuo Watanabe? She didn't think that he was so popular.

This was no doubt a party to get his mind off his missing girlfriend. Which makes Junko's appearance here make even less sense. Why would Mami invite her here? Events like this were only for close friends. Not some random new girl you've only spoken to one time earlier that day.

Her head was spinning with questions. None of this made any sense. She needed to get to the bottom of this before the sword dropped. Kizana seemed to notice her discomfort and put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. 

"Don't worry," she whispered so that only Junko could hear. "I know that this is kinda weird. Mami is pretty impulsive sometimes when it comes to making friends. But you seem really nice. You'll fit right in."

She didn't know what it was, but her sweet childlike smile took away some of Junko's tension. She got the feeling that Kizana was in the same position at one point in the past. It was nice to have someone who at least somewhat understood. She liked Kizana, she kept to herself and wasn't as pompous or over the top as the other two. Junko could see herself getting along with her.

Kizana let out a forlorn sigh. "I just hope she invited you for the right reasons."

"What do you mean?"

Kizana gave her a surprised look and covered her mouth with her hand, as if that thought was not meant to be said aloud.

"N-nothing! S-sorry, forget I said anything!" She whipped around and swiftly left the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

"USAGI HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING!"

Everyone seemed to jump out of their seats as the loud girl barged in and parked herself down onto Mami's couch. She put her feet up on the coffee table and put her hands behind her head as if it was her own home. Kizana was so spooked she nearly hit the ceiling.

"Was that really necessary, Usagi?" Shuichi scolded. Mami was quick to run over and comfort Kizana from her near panic attack.

"Hell, yeah it was! There's no fun in sneak'n in the door all normal like!" Usagi winked and held up the peace sign, like she was an anime girl or something.

"You never change, Bunny chan." Risa commented, giggling at her loud friend.

"Bunny chan?" Junko asked. 

"Usagi means rabbit in Japanese." Kizana said, playing with a strand of her hair nervously.

"That's right!" Usagi shouted. "Isn't that the most rock and roll thing ever, newbie!?"

Junko fumbled with her words. She wasn't used to talking to such an energetic person. This girl was on a whole other level. Why was she using 'rock and roll' as an adjective? That made no sense. Usagi tilted her head to the side curiously and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but was quickly interrupted when another girl and boy walked in. The girl immediately ran up to Shuichi.

"Shuichi! You jerk!" She cried. "Why did you come here without me?"

It was impossible for Junko not to notice how similar the two looked. From the long blonde hair, to the green eyes, even to the wire framed glass perched on their noses. They were definitely twins. 

Shuichi rolls his eyes. "You were going to get Akira. I didn't feel like waiting around for you."

The girl stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "I could have used your help you know! Akira lives on the far side of town, I had no one to talk to the whole way there!"

"Oh what a tragedy. People in third world countries are starving to death and heres poor Mikan Ueda without someone to gossip to for a whole thirty minutes."

"Wow guys," the guy, who must been Akira, said. "You're making me feel real welcomed."

Akira was much shorter in stature than most of the people here, and slightly younger too. Junko guessed that he must have been a first year. That or he was just small. He had a curtain layed back air about him, as apposed to Mikan and Usagi who were much more enthusiastic. It was a welcome sight.

"Oh they didn't mean that Akira." Mami jumps in, trying to soothe a tense situation before it starts. Akira just smiles and shrugs leaning casually against the wall.

"Ah don't worry about it, miss prez. I know how Mikan gets."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mikan said puffing out her cheeks. 

Risa put her hands on her friends shoulders. "Don't listen to them, hun. Not all men can understand the complexities of a good woman."

"Said the raging lesbian." Akira smirked as Risa sighed and rolled her eyes. 

Kizana giggled at the whole display, clearly finding it more fascinating to observe than to add to the conversation. Junko was definitely in the same boat, she had often observed conversations in the halls of the school but never outside the school. She usually spent most of her time at home.

"Anyway," Shuichi piped up. "When will Yasuo be joining us?"

"He'll be here soon," Mami said. "He texted me earlier, said that he'd be a bit late."

"Poor thing, he's not still going out to look for her is he?" Risa asked.

"He is." Kizana cut in. "He called me yesterday and asked if I would join him."

"Did you go?" Risa held a hand to her chest.

"N-no, I had homework. It's such a selfish reason, b-but my parents would never let me leave unless my work was done." The sad girl started at the floor, looking guilty. Junko put a hand on Kizana's shoulder and Mami was quick to run over to comfort her.

"That's not true, Kizana." She said. "It's not your responsibility to look out for him. Your not selfish."

The sad girl sighed. "But I'm his friend, I should be there for him."

"We're all his friends, Kizana. You're not the only one looking out for him." Mikan said.

"I guess..." she trailed off.

"Come on, enough of this sad stuff! We're here to make Yasuo feel better, aren't we?" Usagi said suddenly. Mami nodded in agreement.

"She's right, no more negative thinking. From here on out we're only going to be positive and supportive for him. Can we all agree on that?" She said with a sense of soft authority in her voice. Everyone nodded solemnly in agreement.

Junko couldn't help but be in awe at how influential Mami was. Calm, collected, kind and beautiful, she was truly the perfect leader. It was clear that she truly cared for her friends and wanted them to be happy. However, a sense of doubt settled in the pit of her stomach. She still couldn't figure out why on earth she was here. The people here have hardly spoken to her and only a few of them knew her name. They probably didn't even know that she was there anymore.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"That's him!" Mami jumped from her seat and ran to the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Yasuo was not exactly how Junko had expected him to be. Not that she had any preconceptions to begin with. He had an almost contagious dark aura about him, and when he entered the room it seemed to suck out all the buzzing excitement and replaced it with an all consuming darkness.

A shiver ran down Junko's spine.

The dark cloud of sorrow didn't seem to effect Usagi, because she was the first to jump to greet him. Using the same energetic, bouncy, charismatic attitude she gave to everyone else. She seemed almost completely oblivious to the energy of the room around her.

"Yasuo! You weirdo, why haven't I heard from you lately?" She said, as if the answer wasn't obvious. He stuttered for a moment, probably not expecting someone to treat him so casually. 

"Usagi, don't shout at him." Shuichi scolded. 

Mikan rolled her eyes. "Come on, Shuichi. Yasuo doesn't want us to baby him." 

"I'm not trying to baby him. I'm just being mindful of his mental state."

"He's not a live grenade, Shu-chan."

"Mikan!"

Junko's mind started to wander as a monotonous argument started between the twins. Instead, Junko took a moment to observe Yasuo himself. He seemed to be in deep thought, his eyes had a far away look as if he would rather be somewhere else. His dark wavy hair seemed to cast a dark shadow over his face giving him a mysterious and forlorn look. Yasuo was actually quite handsome in a dark ghostly way.

Unfortunately, all of Junko's thoughts completely disappear as soon as he caught her eyes. He starred at her confused, obviously questioning why she was intruding on his meeting with his friends. Junko attempted to swallow the panic that rose in her chest. Usually when she was caught in the act of eavesdropping or staring too long she would just bury her nose in her phone walk away casually. She couldn't really do that here though, everyone would think that she was rude.

Yasuo made his way past the others, who were either egging on or trying to break up the twins petty argument. He stood next to her, trying to avoid eye contact and fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt as if he didn't quite know how to greet her. Junko couldn't blame him, she didn't know how to greet him either. A sick feeling was crawling back into her stomach again. Junko nearly leaped out of her skin when Mami suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Hey Yasuo, I want you to meet my classmate, Junko." Mami rested her dainty hands on Junko's shoulders. "I hope you two get along well with eachother."

Mami had a cheeky smile on her face, like she had just gotten away with something. The red flags were starting to pop up in Junko's mind, and apparently, she wasn't the only one. Yasuo looked at the young president accusingly.

"Oh. Mami, can I talk to you. In private." He said. Junko shivered at his cold tone.

"But," Mami paused, caught off guard by the request. But she recovered quickly, going back to her calm and sweet demeanor.

"Alright." She said, finally. "Please, excuse us Junko."

They went into the kitchen without anyone noticing. A sinking feeling fell over Junko. She wasn't supposed to be here, this was such a huge mistake. The room suddenly felt way too small, and was getting smaller every minute. She felt like she was breathing underwater and her heart was beating so hard that it hurt. She had to get out of here, she'll die if she stayed any longer. Before anyone could notice her, Junko bolted for the door, almost tripping over a rug on the way out.

She skitted to a halt when her feet hit concrete. Pacing up and down the sidewalk, Junko's thoughts started spiraling. She knew she shouldn't have come! She was trespassing in the student council presidents home and ruining her party. They hated her. This was going to get spread all over the student body by morning, she'll be harassed for the rest of her life. God, why was it so hard to breathe!

"Hey, new girl."

Junko spun around coming face to face with Akira. She must have looked pretty frazzled because he held his hands up in surrender.

"Woah, sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Junko's stomach twisted. She was sure that no one saw her leave. Will this nightmare ever end? Akira reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a beat up pack of cigarettes.

"I guess you needed a smoke break too, huh? So to speak." He flicked open his rose gold lighter, revealing the tiny flame inside and igniting the cancer stick perched in between his lips. 

Junko clasped her hands together to try and stop them from shaking. She didn't know if she was going to vomit or burst into tears. Either way, she couldn't open her mouth lest all her emotions spill out. Her chest tightened up again, she was going to have a heart attack!

"Look, I'm not a professional or anything, but try taking deep breaths if you can." Akira said, his voice quieter than before. "It's going to be okay, nothings gonna hurt you."

Akira sat down on the sidewalk, taking a puff of his cigarette before patting the spot next to him. Junko lowered herself beside him, pulling her knees to her chest. Akira didn't look at her as she silently melted down next to him. He seemed more focused on the fluffy smoke clouds he was making, and she was vaguely grateful for that. 

She swallowed the bile in her throat. 

"God," she choked out. "I'm so sorry."

Akira just shook his head. "Don't be, it happens."

Junko breathed in and out, filling up her lungs more and more with each breath. As long as she kept breathing, she wouldn't die. It was a painfully obvious assumption, but somehow it kept her grounded.

"You need any water? I can go inside and get you some." Akira dropped the stub of his cigarette and crushed it under his foot. Had she really been here for that long?

"No. Thank you though." She sighed quietly.

"We haven't officially been introduced yet." Moving his messy brown hair out of his face, he stretched out a hand. "I'm Akira."

She gave him a small smile and took his hand.

"Junko Hayashi. I'm sorry that we had to meet like this."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Kizana has a similar thing. My mom too." 

"Oh, it's a useful thing to know about."

"I'll say." He smiled lazily.

Junko played with one of her ponytails. "No offense, but you don't seem like the kind of person to help a random stranger."

"Usually I'm not." He said. "I guess you remind me a bit of Aoi in a way."

Junko stared at him, confused.

"Aoi Sakuma? You were close with her?"

"Well yeah, we all were." He said looking up at the orange sky. His dark eyes seemed far away, as if he was remembering something from long ago.

"What do I have in common with Aoi?" 

For some reason, she almost didn't want to know. Maybe it was the sad look in Akira's eyes, or maybe she just didn't want to entertain the possibility that someone in her class was dead, but the whole subject of Aoi Sakuma was starting to feel a bit too real for her liking.

There was a long silence, as if Akira was trying to figure out his own observation.

"I dunno." He said finally. "I guess it's just your energy when you're around or something."

Junko took a moment to think about that. Akira shook his head.

"Nevermind." He said, dismissively. "I can't explain it. Forget I said anything."

"Oh." 

Junko looked down at her feet nervously. How was she supposed to respond to that? Thankfully she didn't have to, the sound of the door opening behind them, prompted ended their conversation.

"Hey guys, get in here! Mikan says she's got something super ROCK'N to show us!" Usagi shouted.

"Oh god, here we go." Akira sighed, getting up from his seat and stretched.

The thought of going back inside made Junko want to shut down again, maybe run for the hills and never come back. Anything was better than having everyone pretending that she was supposed to be there when she was clearly not welcome. It was times like this when she wished she had her DS.

"Hey," Akira said, reaching his hand out to help pull her up. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. We wouldn't hold it against you."

There it was, an easy out. Akira has opened the cage and is willing to let her fly away home. Back to the safety of her electronics, to a place that she could understand and make sense of. Everything in her was screaming to take his offer, it probably wasn't healthy for her to be there anyway. But, she also wasn't sure that she would ever get to talk to them again. Deep down, she was lonely and wanted friends. On the other hand, she didn't want to be a replacement for their lost friend. That wouldn't be fair to her or Aoi. Junko took a moment to way her options before taking Akira's hand.

"Don't worry about me. I'm okay now." She smiled. "I might as well see this through to the end."

• • • •

"You got any idea what your sister wants to show us, Shuichi?" Mami asked, sitting neatly on the couch. Perfect as usual.

The blonde twin next to her adjusted his glasses before answering.

"No, she usually doesn't tell me what she's planning. Really screws with my schedules." He huffed.

"Now don't be so hard on Mikan, Shuichi." Risa cut in, not bothering to look away from her hand mirror. "She's very excited about this. You of all people should be more supportive of her ideas."

He glared at her. The blonde boy did not appear to appreciate that bit of advice.

"I'll have you know that I DO support her ideas."

It was Risa's turn to scoff. "Since when?"

Akira and Usagi started snickering. 

Risa glared at them. "And what, may I ask, are you two laughing about?"

"Oh, nothing." Usagi said, giving Akira a sly smile. "Nothing at all."

Junko couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief. Listening to everyone's banter was actually rather fun. Coming back was the right choice. Though, she still found it impossible to even attempt a side glance at Yasuo when he clearly didn't want her hear for whatever reason. She just hoped Mami was able to convince him to give her a chance.

"What's the hold up, grandma! We don't have all night!" Usagi shouted.

Kizana covered her ears at the loud noise. Junko attempted to soothe her by patting her shoulder.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Mikan called from the hallway. She seemed to be rummaging around with something. It wasn't long before the other half of the Ueda twins came skipping out, holding something behind her back.

She cleared her throat.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between! I present to you, the weirdest and most mysterious story to ever grace the internet! I give you, 'Sachiko Ever After'!"

A paper doll was placed delicately on the coffee table for everyone to see. Shuichi made a face and let out an exasperated scoff.

"You kept us waiting for a piece of paper?"

Risa silenced him with a loud 'shhh'.

"Not just any paper doll, bro!" Mikan countered. "Our key to another world!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Junko saw Yasuo drop his gaze to the floor. Mami also seemed to notice the action, it seemed to make her nervous.

"Um, Mikan." She said. "I don't think-"

"It's fine, Mami." Yasuo interrupted. "I'm not that fragile."

"As I was saying," Mikan continued, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. "The 'Sachiko Ever After' phenomenon is one of Aoi's favorite local legend. She and I would spend nights researching it, trying to figure out exactly what happened fifty years ago to cause the disappearce of all those high-school students."

"Yeah, I remember." Akira cut in. "Aoi was kinda obsessed with it."

Yasuo glared at him. "She wasn't obsessed. It was just a little pet project she had."

Junko took a moment to wrack her brain. She had heard of 'Sachiko Ever After' but didn't know much about it. She wasn't really interested in local legends and myths like that. All she knew about the story was that the spell was proven not to work. Other than being some weird paranormal thing for her club, Junko couldn't help but wonder what would make Aoi so fascinated by a ghost story from fifty years ago that had already been debunked.

"In light of..." Mikan paused, suddenly looking pained. "Recent developments, I had a thought. Doesn't it seem strange that Aoi disappeared while trying to solve the same curse that is said to have caused the disappearce of countless students long ago?"

"So what are you saying Mikan?" Shuichi asked, he seemed offended. "Are you going to try and tell us that you're foolish story is actually real, and Aoi is in some magical demention? Because if you are, I won't hear any more of it."

"Me neither. This party was supposed to be fun. I don't want to talk about HER anymore!" Usagi said, rising to her feet. She looked like a completely different person when she was serious, like the happy-go-lucky quirky girl from before was chased away by something dark, never to be seen again.

Junko felt her chest tighten as the tension rose in the room. She watched as Kizana fidgeted in her seat nervously and Akira started fumbling with the zipper of his jacket. Risa played with the hem of her skirt as if she didn't quite know what to do with her hands and Yasuo simply stared down at the paper doll, his eyes glassy and far away.

"Everyone, calm down." Mami said, trying to keep the peace.

Mikan was silent as she looked down at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Clearly this had not gone the way she had planned.

"Oh sweetheart." Risa jumped from her seat and embraced poor Mikan in a loving hug. Mikan hugged her back tightly, as if grateful for the safety of her friends arms.

Suddenly, Yasuo stood up and made his way towards the door.

"Yasuo, where are you going?" Mami called, following him.

"Listen Mami," he said. "I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but it's not helping."

"I just..." she trailed off.

"The wound is still raw, Mami. Don't try to force it to go away."

And with that, Yasuo left. Slamming the door behind him.


End file.
